Reasoned increase in J&K’s final Electoral Roll

According to the J&K's Joint Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir has registered an increase of 7,72,872 new voters after
a special summary revision exercise undertaken and culminated by the Election Commission of India in June-October. On
the day of its publishing final electoral roll on November 25, the final electoral roll registered an increase of 10.19% over
the draft roll.
There are a total of 8359771 electors on the final electoral rolls, of whom 4291687 are male, 184 are third gender, and
4067900 are females. Contrary to the well expressed apprehension in certain quarters, there has been no anomalous rise
in voter turnout, and a 10% increase after three years is usual. It is recalled that the then chief electoral officer, Mr.
Hirdesh Kumar had raised a controversy on August 16, by announcing that there would be an increase of about 25 Lakh
new voters including those who have acquired the new domicile certificates in Jammu Kashmir. The news caused furore
among the local residents and later, the Administration had to retreat on what its CEO had announced.
Following the completion of the delimitation exercise in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year, the Election
Commission of India ordered pre-revision activities on June 10, 2022, which primarily included the task of mapping the
existing electoral rolls of 83 pre-delimitation constituencies to the post-delimitation 90 constituencies in accordance with
the delimitation commission's order, rationalisation of polling stations, and integrations.
The Commission ordered a special summary revision of photo electoral rolls in the Union Territory of Jammu and
Kashmir, with the qualifying date set for 01-10-2022.
The overall number of electors on the electoral rolls was 75,86,899, with 39,48,525 male electors, 36,38,262 female
electors, and 112 third gender electors.
The elector population ratio grew from 0.52 to 0.58. “The final electoral roll gender ratio has grown from 921 to 948,”
he stated.
This was the first time in J&K history that more than 11 lakh names were incorporated in a single SSR period. “Overall
net addition of 772872 electors, i.e. more than 10% of the draught electors, is a milestone as the best figure till date, even
in election year SSRs, was less than 2 lakh,” The gender ratio has increased by 27 points and now stands at 948, which is
significantly higher than the UT census gender ratio.
The picture coverage in the electoral register was maintained at 99.99%, indicating that no new entries in the Electoral
Roll were permitted without a valid photograph. “The final electoral roll has 57253 marked PwD electors, a 46% increase
over the draught roster.
What is notable and interesting, according to the Joint CEO, that while the special summary revision-2022 concluded
with the publication of final electoral rolls in the UT on November 25th, 2022, the process of continuous updating will
continue and any eligible citizen who has been left off the electoral roll can apply through any of the modes of registration,
namely online through the NVSP portal, Voter Helpline APP, Voter Portal, or offline by making an application to the ERO
concerned.
With the implementation of four qualifying dates as part of the Commission's electoral
reforms, the qualifying date would be updated to 1st January 2023, following the 31st December,
2022, paving the way for all those young citizens who have attained the qualifying age of 18 years
between 1st October 2022 and 1st January 2023 can still get registered.